The last years of the Qing Dynasty were a very dark period in China, when the incompetence of the Qing government led to the occupation of our country by western powers, the loss of a large amount of land, and the great suffering of the people. In addition to attributing all this to the rulers, it was also closely related to the fierce internal political struggles of the time. One of the most crucial figures is Li Hongzhang, and it is precisely because of the official document he signed at that time that it brought countless dark nightmares to China.
In 1895, the Sino-Japanese War, which lasted for more than a year, ended with the total annihilation of the Beiyang Marine Division, after which the Qing court was forced to sign a series of unequal treaties, which not only plunged China into a huge crisis, but also greatly strengthened Japan's power.
Li Hongzhang has an unshirkable responsibility for this situation, because he is not only directly responsible for the Beiyang Marine Division, but even the treaty is signed on his behalf. Therefore, when the dust settled on this matter, Li Hongzhang was not only insulted by the people of the whole country, but also abandoned by the Qing court, and all his important posts were removed.
Li Hongzhang's best skill was his diplomatic ability, and because he often represented the Qing court in dealing with other countries, he was well-known internationally. Because of this, he waited for the opportunity to reuse it again soon after. At that time, Russia was carrying out ambitious expansion plans, and its goal was the Far East, but before marching to the Far East, it was first necessary to solve the problem of the defense of the region, and for the solution, Russia, after careful investigation, thought that the best way to do it was to build a railway that could cross Siberia.
Since the railway had to pass through northeast China, it meant that they had to get the consent of the Qing court in order for them to build the railway smoothly. But how in the end can the Qing court agree to lend land? Then Russia thought of the Alliance. Japan's attempt to occupy the Liaodong Peninsula had already aroused russia's dissatisfaction, believing that it would harm its interests and that if Japan were allowed to occupy China, it would inevitably suffer even greater losses.
The best way to prevent Japan from invading and occupying China is to ally with China, so that not only can Japan be suppressed, but also the Qing court can be used to put forward conditions for the Qing court to lend land. I have to say that Russia has a good idea, but how to convince the Qing court? In order to let the Qing court understand its sincerity, Russia joined forces with Germany and France to pressure Japan to abandon Liaodong. Naturally, Japan would not agree, but under pressure, it finally agreed that the Qing court would exchange thirty million silver for the Liaodong Peninsula.
After this incident, the Qing court realized the advantages of alliance with Russia, after all, China at this time was really not suitable for fighting alone, and if a powerful country could help China, then China could survive peacefully. At this time, the Qing court had not yet discovered Russia's wolf ambitions, and only thought that Russia was helping him. Therefore, when Russia hinted at the alliance between the two countries, the Qing court agreed, but who should be sent to sign the contract?
Originally, the Qing court was ready to send Wang Zhichun, an envoy from Hubei Province, to Russia to complete this task, but Russia refused, and implied that Li Hongzhang should come to sign the contract. At this time, the Qing court was bent on relying on Russia, and naturally did not dare to refuse this request, so Li Hongzhang, who had originally fallen out of favor, was once again entrusted with a heavy responsibility and went to Russia to reach a pact of alliance between the two countries. Before leaving, Cixi summoned Li Hongzhang and demanded that he must make an alliance with Russia.
After Li Hongzhang came to Russia, the representatives of the two countries had a secret conversation. In the course of the negotiations, Russia put forward a demand for the Qing court to lend the northeast land, and threatened and seduced Li Hongzhang, saying that as long as the Qing court was willing to lend land to Russia to build roads, it would do its best to protect China, otherwise, Russia would no longer protect China. At first, Li Hongzhang did not agree, because he had seen through Russia's wolf ambitions. However, Russia did not give up, and the Russian tsar even personally came forward to persuade Li Hongzhang and promised the Qing court a lot of benefits, and finally Li Hongzhang agreed.
The reason why Li Hongzhang agreed to Russia's request was not only to complete the task assigned by Cixi, but also to have selfish intentions, because as long as he completed this task, he would be able to consolidate his political position in China. Therefore, under the persuasion of Li Hongzhang, China and Russia finally reached an alliance and signed the Sino-Russian Treaty. But it was this treaty that ultimately brought China an endless nightmare, allowing the Western powers to continuously invade Andropolis China's territory on this basis, thus triggering greater wars.